Me.

WindySydney began as an online journal detailing my exit from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Since leaving the Mormon Church, I have come to the conclusion that religion does more harm than good. I have also become an atheist, looking for logic and reason instead of accepting things on faith.

I also blog about things going on in my life. I am learning photography, I have a severe addiction to diet coke, I am a proud vegetarian, and I have two of the cutest cats in the world. Life is officially an adventure without the magical fairy-tale ending. I plan on enjoying it.

You know, since the death of Gordon B. Hinkley, PR genius, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taken a nose-dive in popularity contests and public opinion.

I believe it started with Chad Hardy, the man who created the Men on a Mission calendar. Gordon B. Hinkley had no comment whatsoever about the calendar, and had no intention of punishing Hardy for taking pictures of grown men with their shirts off. I truly believe that Hinkley knew it would cause more conflict than it was worth, but after his death, the goons went out and told Hardy to stop the publication of his calendar, (even though some of the money from sales went to Muscular Distrophy charity).

Obviously, Chad Hardy refused, and good for him. I had the opportunity to meet him, shake his hand, and get a signed copy of this calendar at the ExMormon Foundation Conference in October, and I have a very positive impression from him.

Since refusing to stop production of the calendar, he was excommunicated from the church and not given the diploma he rightfully earned from BYU. He is fighting this legally with an amazing team, and if you would like to donate to his cause, click here. It's going to take a lot of moo-lah to equal the Church's money (tithing anyone?)

So... strike one for the church. Many Mormons I know, as well as non-Mormons, are at a loss as to why the church suddenly had a problem with Chad's calendar. They can't explain what the "big deal" is, and it left a funny taste in their mouths.

Strike two is the insane mess that is Proposition 8 in California. The church elders decided to publicly back Prop. H8, ask Mormons for their time, money and talents to stop gay marriage in a state that is only 2% Mormon, and then throw their hands in the air and say, "Why are you picking on us? Leave us alone!!" when people grew tired of them and their brand of God's love.

I read an article yesterday that mentioned that 77% of prop. H8's money came from Mormon donations. That explains the large outcry against the Church, although it just feeds right into their persecution complex. They love to be picked on, they find it faith promoting.

Yesterday, strike three came when Holocaust survivors stated publicly that the church had been baptizing Holocaust victims even after coming to an agreement to stop the practice 13 years ago.

Now, everyone who reads this blog knows I have disagreed with Baptism for the dead from the very beginning. Religion is a personal choice, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is taking that choice away from you as soon as you kick the bucket. It's arrogant, it's stupid, and it happens every single day.

"We ask you to respect us and our Judaism just as we respect your religion," Michel said in a statement released ahead of the news conference. "We ask you to leave our six million Jews, all victims of the Holocaust, alone, they suffered enough."

Respect for others is something Mormon leaders have a huge problem with. They talk a lot of game, but they don't back it up.

Let's think about this logically for a minute (I know, logic and reason are hard on the faithful, but just try it!)...

Why would the creator of the world require certain ceremonies on earth in order to be with him again in heaven? What sense does that really make? Lets call this for what it is, busy-work.

I would like to state, for the record, that if anyone baptizes me, after death, back into the church that I find morally corrupt and bigoted, I will be pissed. I will be one pissed off little ghostie, and I will come back to haunt your sorry ass forever.

You are either being untruthful or are ignorant of what the LDS's church's stance is on Baptism for the Dead.

The LDS church does indeed perform baptisms by proxy for those who are deceased. But the church has no notion of these people being forced to accept the baptism. If they accept the baptism, then great. If not, its as if the baptism didn't happen.

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but if you indeed know so much about the church, then you are being misleading at best when you say "... the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is taking that choice away from you as soon as you kick the bucket." You know that isn't true and that you are trying to garner more "points" for a grudge you hold against the church. Being nasty and spreading untruths about a church you were a member of will NEVER bring you happiness. You may disagree, but be intellectually honest about it. You will feel better about yourself when you go to bed at night.

As soon as I die, I have half a million Mormon family members that are going to baptize me by proxy even though I don't want them to. Is it *me* making the choice to be re-baptized? NO! It's not my choice.

The only grudge I have against this church is lying to be over and over again through my 29 years of life. You might not realize it yet, but one day you might. When that happens, I will be here for you.

I AM NOT SPREADING UNTRUTHS.

Oh, and by the way... I have no trouble going to bed at night, and you should not claim that I do.

I know what I have been taught, and what I have learned are two very different things. You don't get that. Yet.

I know what I have been taught, and what I have learned are two very different things. You don't get that. Yet.

Well I know a lot about the early church and you don't see my testimony staggering. I am currently reading a book about Joseph Smith's life and it is a pretty accurate historical representation. Even though it is written by a LDS author it does a pretty good job about covering both sides of the coin. Joseph was either a prophet or a lair.

Know you and I know a lot about Joseph Smith. You are convinced that information about the prophet is conclusive that he was a fraud.

I disagree.

I think that aspects about his life can support both sides of the argument and the side one believes is based on other factors.

I will repeat what Anonymous said here.You may disagree, but be intellectually honest about it.

You continue to drill your side of the arguments. If you want some answers you could try here http://www.fairlds.org/

What I want to hear is you explain is how you think an uneducated farmboy could dictate a piece of literature like the Book of Mormon on his first try when he had done nothing of the sort before. Because he using a hat to block out light so he could see the stones we know that there was no way he was reading off of anything. Everything he was dictating was either coming from his own mind or through the power of God. Either way, it would be very miraculous.

I also want to hear what you think of the Stela 5 (look about half way down the page)

This is the tree of life only not in the book of mormon.There are 6 human figures on this stone each with symbolism that makes strong ties to Lehi, Sariah, Lamen, Lemual, Nephi, and Sam.

Now I don't believe that Joseph being uneducated or Stela 5 are conclusive that the Book of Mormon is true. A real testimony comes from living the gospel.

You can be bitter and be against the church on everything or you can be intellectually honest and gain a deeper understanding of church history and the church now.